KLA (KLAC) closed the most recent trading day at $224.50, moving -2.55% from the previous trading session. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.38%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.29%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.62%.
Shares of the maker of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors have depreciated by 2.93% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.53%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.61%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of KLA in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on July 28, 2026. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1, reflecting a 6.38% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.61 billion, up 13.57% from the prior-year quarter.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $3.62 per share and a revenue of $13.53 billion, indicating changes of +8.71% and +11.28%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for KLA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.64% higher. Right now, KLA possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, KLA is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 45.68. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 25.13 for its industry.
One should further note that KLAC currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.19. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.69.
The Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 58, putting it in the top 24% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).